the bulletin - unc charlotte
TRANSCRIPT
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THE BULLETIN INSIDE THIS ISSUE MPA STUDENT GROUP
The Executive Board
Current Events MPA FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
Lauren Tayara STUDENT/ALUMNI CONFERENCE WORKSHOPS ALUMNI SPOTLIGHT
Matthew Rhoten
Brittany Bumgarner PROFESSOR SPOTLIGHT
Curt Walton, former Charlotte City Manager
MPA/JD DUAL DEGREE
Jonathan Blanton, J.D.
Help Fund the Burkhalter-Rassel Scholarship
Issue 11 Spring 2016
P lease help us help MPA students realize their potential! UNC Charlotte's Gerald G. Fox Master of Public Administration program is
holding a month-long campaign to endow its longest-awarded scholarship.
The Burkhalter-Rassel Scholarship was established to honor of the memory of David Burkhalter, who served as the City Manager of Charlotte from 1971 to 1981, and Faculty Emeritus and former MPA Director Gary Rassel, who taught in the MPA program from 1982-2012. This scholarship is awarded to an incoming or first-year student each fall semester.
“The Burkhalter-Rassel Scholarship is really important because it entices some of the best students to the program,” says former recipient Sarah Poulton.
The crowdfunding campaign goal is $5,000 and will be active until April 14 at https://crowdfund.uncc.edu/burkhalter-rassel.
Endowing this scholarship means we can award it in perpetuity and always have scholarship assistance available for MPA students. Please give today; any amount you can contribute will help us reach our goal.
Thank you for investing in UNC Charlotte
and in our community!
Dr. David Burkhalter (left) and Dr. Gary Rassel (right).
“We strive to provide
the best possible educa-
tional and leadership
opportunities for all
MPA and UNC Charlotte
students through con-
ferences, research sym-
posiums, public and
community events.”
MPASG Executive Board
Interested in joining the MPASG? Do you want to be more involved in the MPA program but you aren’t sure where to start? The MPASG Executive Board invites all dually enrolled MPA and UNC Charlotte students interested in public service to join the MPASG. Official membership is FREE! Join us and attend conferences, symposia and social events to meet Charlotte and North Carolina public administrators and nonprofit leaders, as well as to expand your professional network. For more information, please contact Tracy Martin Nash at [email protected] or Lief Fitzpatrick at [email protected].
WANT TO SUPPORT THE MPA PROGRAM?
Please consider contributing to one of our scholarship funds. You can make a gift online at mpa.uncc.edu/make-gift.
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President: Tracy Martin Nash
Tracy earned a B.S. in Political Science from Appalachian State University and will be graduating
with her MPA with a focus on Public Budgeting and Finance in May 2016. Tracy completed a
summer internship in the Kannapolis and Concord City Manager's Offices in 2015, and is now
interning with the Gaston County Budget & Purchasing and Grants Administration offices. She
also serves as the Head Graduate Assistant in the Political Science and Public Administration
Department.
Meet the MPASG Executive Board
The MPA Fellowship Program The UNC Charlotte MPA program has teamed up with local public and nonprofit organizations to offer
students experience in their field of interest through fellowship programs.
THE BULLETIN
My name is Lauren Tayara, and I am an MPA student with a concentration in Nonprofit Management. I graduated from the College of Charleston in 2011 with a Bachelor's Degree in Psychology. I am the Graduate Research Fellow at the Charlotte Chamber of Commerce. I applied for the fellowship because it looked like a great opportunity to gain experience in research application in the real world. Having just finished my first required research methods class and starting the second this semester, I thought this position would help apply my newly acquired knowledge. I also thought it would be a great way to get to know my city from a whole new point of view. As a Charlotte resident for the past three and half years, I am so proud of this city’s growth. It’s amazing to actually see that in the form of numbers on spreadsheets, in graphs, or in charts. My favorite part about working at the Chamber so far has been researching all of the new businesses in town. I am the first person out of my friends to know about all of the coolest new restaurants now. I look forward to seeing my work applied in publications to help promote Charlotte's economy within the U.S. and internationally. I have loved working at the Charlotte Chamber so far, and I can’t wait to see what’s in store for the rest of the year!
Treasurer: Alex Farmer Alex holds a BA in Political Science and a BA in Criminal Justice from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte. Currently, Alex is pursu-ing a Master's in Public Administra-tion with a concentration in Public Budgeting and Finance.
Vice President: Stephanie Whitley Stephanie received her B.S. in Polit-ical Science and History and will be graduating with her MPA degree in May 2016. She is currently the Ex-ecutive Administrative Manager and Human Resource Coordinator at Converged Network Services Group (CNSG) in Charlotte, NC.
Senator: Lief Fitzpatrick Lief has a B.S. in English Literature from the College of Charleston and is pursuing an MPA degree with a concentration in Urban Manage-ment and Policy. Veteran of the U.S. Air Force, Lief currently works at the Mecklenburg County Park and Recreation Services as Mainte-nance Operations Specialist.
Secretary: Ashley Nelson Ashley received a B.S. in Communi-cation Studies and Business Admin-istration from the University of South Dakota. She currently serves as the graduate assistant for Stu-dent Organizations and is working towards an MPA with a concentra-tion in Nonprofit Management.
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MPA ALUMNI THRIVE: Catching up with Matt Rhoten and Brittany Bumgarner
Matthew Rhoten joined the MPA program as a student and graduate assistant after
earning his B.S. in Political Science with a minor in Legal Studies. Matt, a Burkhalter-Rassel scholarship recipient, soon gained an internship with Charlotte City Center Partners, before moving onto an internship in the Gaston County Budget Office. Matt was hired on as a full time budget analyst with
Gaston County, and has recently been promoted to Budget Director. Matt attributes much of his success to the MPA program and its ability to, “give a good overview of [government] operations as well as soft and technical skills. I really enjoyed being able to apply class concepts directly to work. Through the MPA program, I was able to diversify my skill set and learn management tools. “ Matt graduated with his MPA in December 2015, and aspires to be a city or county manager.
After earning a B.S. in Sports Management and taking a few sports-related jobs that she didn't love,
Brittany found a position with a nonprofit that changed her career outlook. “I got a taste of what public service felt like, and I had the opportunity to interact with people who were affected by the work that I was doing,” Brittany says. Through the program, Brittany was introduced to several different networking and professional development
opportunities. Possibly her most meaningful experience was at the Charlotte Library Foundation, where she was an intern. Brittany credits the Executive Director’s mentorship as invaluable. Brittany advises that students, “Be involved and use the resources that are available to you. Network with your peers; most of the people in your classes work full-time in a public-service organization.” After graduating in December 2015, Brittany now works with the Donor Relations team in University Advancement at UNC Charlotte.
The MPA Program welcomes Curt Walton
Curt Walton
is the MPA
Program’s
newest
faculty
member.
Curt has an
accomplished resume that
includes senior leadership
experience such as former
Charlotte City Manager,
Interim Executive Director for
organizations such as
Classroom Central, University
City Partners, and Council for
Children’s Rights. He is the
recipient of many honors,
including Alumni Hall of Fame
in Moore County.
Curt started his public
service career with an interest
in cities and urban
development that led him to an
internship with what is now
Charlotte Water. From that
internship, Curt accepted a
position as Assistant Town
Manager in Wake Forest until
he returned to Charlotte in
1986 to be a Budget Analyst.
Curt was promoted to Budget
and Evaluation Director in
1996 where he remained
through 2007. In 2002, Curt
also served as Charlotte’s
Deputy City Manager, a
position he held through
2007, until he was promoted
to City Manager of Charlotte
from 2007-2013.
Though he no longer serves
as City Manager, Curt
continues to build
community as an honored
faculty member here at UNC
Charlotte. He now serves as
an Executive In Residence
and instructs courses in
Public Budgeting and
Finance, assists the Urban
Institute, and supports many
academic programs within
UNC Charlotte.
We greatly appreciate
having a public servant of
such talent and caliber here
with our program.
Q&A WITH CURT WALTON Q: What has been your favorite position?
A: Budget Director- I was able to do everything I did as
a city manager but on a more manageable scale.
Q: What has been your toughest issue as City
Manager?
A: Evolution of the issue on sexual orientation. It began
with much more opposition by the city, by businesses,
etc. and now it isn’t questioned. Managing through that
issue respectfully with everyone feeling they were heard
means I had to communicate very strategically.
Q: What is the most pressing issue in local politics
today?
A: The composition of American communities because
historically, communities have been White or Black. Now,
there isn’t much of a majority race. Managing different
cultures with different views of government is a
challenge.
Q: What is your favorite place in Charlotte?
A: St. Mary’s Chapel. My wife and I were married there,
and more recently my daughter was married there.
Q: What recommendations do you have for future
MPA students?
A: Follow your passion. Be open to different aspects.
Understand that public service is just that. It is public
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The Master of Public Administration Program and the Charlotte School of Law have collaborated to form a dual degree program, where students can simultaneously earn a Juris Doctor and Master of Public Administration degree.
Currently, one student has successfully enrolled in the program, Jonathan
Blanton. Jonathan completed his studies at Charlotte Law in December and will
successfully finish his Master of Public Administration degree in the summer.
The program allows students to focus on the J.D. degree for the first
NCCCMA Conference Networking is the best part of the North Carolina City-County Manager’s Association conferences for students, and the 2016 winter session was no different. The conference began with a breakfast, in which MPA students were able to meet distinguished city managers such as Gerald Fox, Ron Smith, and Curt Walton. After the breakfast , the NCCMA held
speed coaching sessions in which MPA students could practice their interviewing skills, ask questions about
career development, career
advice, how to face common
issues in the workplace, and a
Q/A time. Fourteen
individuals were inducted
into the Phi Alpha Alpha. Ms.
Kelly Moore was awarded the
Brown-Dorton Scholarship
and Mr. Sam Smith received
the Burkehalter-Rassel
Scholarship.
The department looks
forward to welcoming alumni
and students in October of
2016! For more information,
please contact
T he MPA Student/
Alumni
conference
extends an open
invitation to current MPA
students and program
alumni each year. The
purpose of this student/
alumni annual meeting is to
build a strong and
sustainable professional
network, create learning
opportunities within the
MPA field, and keep alumni
involved in program
activities.
The 2015 MPA Student/
Alumni conference took
place on October 30, 2015 at
the Center City Campus and
showcased a talented,
diverse group of
speakers. Among the
presentations were,
“Negotiating in the
Workplace” by Lisa Yarrow;
a panel session, “Even
Higher Education”
featuring Dr. Joanne
Carman, Rocky Cabagnot,
J.D., Dr. Cheri Maestras,
and Dr. Zachary Mohr;
panel session, “Next
Generation/Emerging
Leaders” made up of past
alumni Stacey Henderson,
Millie Joensen and Ethan
Smith, and ICMA
Emerging Leader Rob
McCarty; and lastly a
presentation on “Conflict
Resolution” by Bruce
Auerbach and Connie
Curtis. The sessions
allowed these individuals
to share their professional
two years of the program studying at Charlotte School of Law and the third year of the program studying at
UNC Charlotte. It provides a great way to successfully develop a niche in the field of public administration and law.
Interested students can contact [email protected] or [email protected] to learn more about the program.
local government jobs, and network through one-on-one contact with city and county officials. The wide range of workshops provided a venue for directed dialogue and sharing of ideas. For more information about the NCCMA conferences or the student ICMA chapter, please contact Lief Fitzpatrick, [email protected].
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MPASG UPCOMING
EVENTS
Graduate Research Symposium: April 2, 2016 at J. Murray Atkins Library from 9am-4pm.
MPA Reading Day - May 4, 2016 Social: May 4, 2016, 5-7PM, Location:TBD
North Carolina City County Managers Summer Seminar: June 23-25, 2016 in Asheville at the Renaissance Hotel. For more information, visit mpa.uncc.edu.
MASTER OF PUBLIC ADMINISTRATION
9201 University City Boulevard. Charlotte, NC 28223
Program Director: Suzanne Leland [email protected]
MPA Alumni/Student Conference Recap
UNC Charlotte MPA/JD Dual Enrollment